Partnered with a Survivor: David Mandel and Ruth Reymundo Mandel
Partnered with a Survivor is a professional-focused podcast created and produced by Ruth Reymundo and hosted by the Safe & Together Institute. What began as intimate conversations between Ruth and David Mandel—founder of the Institute and creator of the Safe & Together Model—about violence, relationships, abuse, and the systems that respond to them has grown into a global conversation about systems and culture change.
Hosted by Ruth and co-hosted by David, the podcast features in-depth, professionally grounded discussions about how institutions respond to domestic abuse, gender-based violence, and child maltreatment. Many episodes also feature global leaders working across fields such as child safety, men and masculinity, perpetrator accountability, fatherhood, and partnering with survivors.
Together, these conversations examine how systems often fail adult and child survivors, how societal narratives about masculinity and violence shape professional practice, and how intersectional realities—including cultural and religious beliefs, racialised identities, LGBTQ+ experiences, immigration status, disability, and other structural vulnerabilities—shape responses to abuse and violence.
The podcast offers an insider lens into how professionals navigate systems not only as practitioners, but also as parents and partners. Through candid dialogue and critical reflection, Ruth and David challenge the assumptions and structures that limit meaningful accountability, safety, and healing. The goal is collective movement across systems, cultures, and families toward greater safety, nurturance, and sustained change.
Disclaimer: Episodes contain sensitive topics and occasional mature language that may be difficult for some listeners. The views and opinions expressed by podcast guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Safe & Together Institute or its staff.
Partnered with a Survivor: David Mandel and Ruth Reymundo Mandel
Latest Episodes
Season 7 Episode 12: Clare's Law Explained: What Survivors Deserve to Know About Their Partner's Past
What if the most important fact about your partner’s violence risk is sitting in a police database you can’t access? In this episode, David and Ruth dig into Clare’s Law, the UK’s domestic viole...
Season 7 Episode 11: Why Coercive Control Laws Alone Won't Protect Women and Children with Dr. Marsha Scott
A coercive control law can be groundbreaking and still leave survivors asking, “Why doesn’t life feel safer?”David and Ruth are joined by Dr. Marsha Scott, CEO of Scottish Women’s Aid, to talk about ...
Season 7 Episode 10: The Assumptions That Put LGBTQ Survivors at Risk
If your picture of domestic abuse is still “bigger person equals perpetrator,” that assumption can derail safety planning in minutes, especially in same-sex relationships and LGBTQ families. In this episode, Ruth and David sit down ...
Season 7 Episode 9: When Systems Fracture Identity: A Métis Perspective on Belonging and Accountability
Systems don’t just “break” on their own. They do what they were designed to do, and too often that means extracting money, labor, and dignity while claiming to keep us safe. In this episode, David and Ruth sit down with
Season 7 Episode 8: Shifting Domestic Violence Practice in Japan with Professor Kanako Masui
Ruth and David are recording from Okayama, Japan, and the shift you’re about to hear is bigger than language. Professor Kanako Masui of Nihon Fukushi University joins David and Ruth to explain why so many domestic violence and child...
Fan Mail
Hi David and Ruth. Thank you so much for this podcast. It was life supporting through my domestic violence trial against my abuser (who was a police officer) in 2020-2021. He committed suicide in 2022. Now that I am truly safe, I want to share my story, but I am not sure how. Thought I would reach out. Thank you again for all you do.
San Francisco, California